A Ninja's Art
by ZorpoxTheConqueror
Summary: Kim has just finished watching a horror movie with Ron; now she's home alone, and more than a little nervous.  Is her imagination running away with her, or is something more sinister going on?  A Halloweenish tale.


**A/N** Just a short little story idea I had for a Halloween tale.

Beta checked by Eddy13

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**_Kim Possible: _**_**A Ninja's Art**_

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"All right, KP, it's dark outside, your parents and brothers are out, and we have the whole house to ourselves. You know what that means don't you?"

Kim smiled as she leaned across the couch towards Ron, eyes closed, ready to start the makeout session. Instead, she fell flat, spread across the couch, her eyes snapping open. She twisted until she was reclined sideways, and looked at her boyfriend. He had his back to her, messing with something, before he turned with an almost gleeful squeal. "Movie Night!"

The red head gave a half sigh and rolled her eyes, then sat up, slightly exasperated at his enthusiasm. "Actually, Ron, I had hoped that we could just watch a little TV, and relax." She gave him what she hoped was an alluring smile.

Her boyfriend, as always, chose to ignore the obvious. "KP, come on," he whined, "Fridays are Ron night, movie night, right?"

Sighing again, the teen stretched on the couch, then sat up, nodding. "Okay, Ron, just no Bricks of Fury movies. You've got them all memorized, anyway." He gave another characteristic whine, then nodded, picking something else. Finally grabbing the DVD, he smiled, then bent down to fiddle with the TV and get the movie playing. A few minutes later, he realized he had a problem.

"Um, KP, it won't go in."

"What?" She stood, moving to peer just over Ron's shoulder, then looked down, and started growling under her breath. "Tweebs. They must have messed with something. Look, it's missing the faceplate and some of the buttons." Sure enough, the DVD player was in pieces, and no matter what they tried, it wouldn't light up.

Standing again, Kim just shook her head. "This won't work. We'll have to go up and watch the movie in my room."

"Y-y-y-y-y-your room?" Ron stuttered, suddenly thinking of Kim's dad. "I-I-I-I don't know, KP, maybe I'll just go home, it's kinda late..."

Kim grabbed his arm, quickly tugging him along. "Don't be such a scaredy cat, Ron, Dad won't mind if we watch the movie up there. Lets go."

Following dutifully, Ron gulped, and the two teens were soon situated on Kim's bed, the movie placed into her computer. As the title credits rolled, Kim turned to her boyfriend, wrinkling her nose. "A horror movie? Really?"

The blond jutted his chin out. "You said no Bricks of Fury. I had to pick something."

She shook her head back, "A romantic comedy would have been fine."

"You mean a chick flick?"

The red head leaned closer to her boyfriend, nuzzling against his neck, "I think you'd like the _Memo_ _Pad_."

"Please. If you watched that with Shego, how good could it be?" As she turned and gave him a dangerous look, he decided to keep quiet. He shushed her, even though he'd been the last one talking. "Shh, the movie is starting."

Rolling her eyes, Kim laid back to watch the movie.

Casting a surreptitious glance over at his girlfriend, he almost smiled before catching himself. He hadn't picked the movie entirely by accident. He'd been talking with Felix lately, sharing some information back and forth about dating, and his friend had mentioned that when he watched horror movies with Zita, anytime she was scared, she had turned to Felix, and practically ended up in his lap. Ron was hoping that he could do something similar, and play the 'comforting boyfriend.' He sat back to watch the movie.

What he forgot to take into account was just how fearless Kim was.

For the first three quarters of the movie, Kim watched the film, almost half bored. Being a horror movie, it was doing its best to be scary, with dark locations, spooky music, and creepy creatures, but throughout it all, Kim was unimpressed. She had faced much more terrifying things herself; if she...well, Ron, could handle Gill, in the woods, at night, without getting terrified, there wasn't a whole lot that was scary anymore. She leaned back, watching the last little bit of the movie.

At this point in the horror flick, the creature had already claimed its fifth victim, and was now going after the final survivors. The creature itself could be best described as a floating jellyfish, a round, bulbous monster that sifted through the air silently, stalking its victims, before attacking with its open underbelly. The creature would let loose a shrill, piercing cry, freezing its prey, before attacking; it would lurch forward through the air, slipping its open maw over the victims head, the talons around its base digging into the prey, holding it in place. It would then proceed to suck the life force out of its victim, rendering its prey nothing more than a withered husk.

As Ron watched the movie, the blond grumbled to himself, realizing that his brilliant idea was a bust. Kim was completely at ease with the movie. He smiled, suddenly, as he realized that there might be one last scare in this film. Music playing eerily, lights out, the lead heroine being approached by the floating monster, Ron was sure that he had finally found his opportunity. He waited, as the climax occurred, the floating creature shooting out of the darkness with a squeal, he turned, waiting for his girlfriend to react in fright, hugging him closely.

Instead, Kim was sat up in bed, breathing quickly, holding her small, stuffed Pandaroo to her chest. She clutched it tightly, rocking back and forth, lightly whispering to it. Ron, dumbfounded, shook his head. She chose a stuffed bear thing over him? He gave a disgusted snort, giving the plush toy a decidedly dark glare. As the end credits rolled, Ron stood, then moved over to Kim's computer, quickly turning it off, then looked back at her. "Well, I guess it's getting late, KP, I need to go."

Kim seemed to snap out of her daze, setting her stuffed plushie on the bed, she stood and stretched, then nodded, following him downstairs. He waited at the door for a second, reminding her, "Don't forget, we made a promise to Yamanouchi."

She nodded back. "Don't worry, Ron, I remember, and I'll take care of it." She thought back to her room. "I'm sure everything will stay safe."

"Okay, good." He smiled again, then turned to the door, and stepped out onto the porch. A cold wind blew through the door, causing Kim to shiver. Ron saw it and gave her what he hoped was a roguish grin. "You know, if you're scared, I could stay a little while longer."

The red head smiled back. "As tempting as that is...night, Ron." She closed the door on his face, smirking as she heard him grumbled, then leave. As Kim turned back to head into the living room and tidy up, she thought back to her promise to Yamanouchi.

Ron had told her it would be a favor for Yamanouchi, but she wasn't convinced. They had hundreds of ninjas at their call, why her? As he had explained, she was even more doubtful, but her boyfriend had finally laid on his version of the puppy dog pout, and she knew she was done for. Grumbling the entire time, she'd agreed, and now she found herself helping a Yamanouchi student with his skills. Kim wondered if she should check on him now, but shook her head, knowing that he would call on her help when he was ready.

Sighing, she thought back to something Ron had said to her once: she just needed to learn to say no. The red head had replied that she just wasn't programmed that way; and now, she was helping someone learn ninja skills. Just because she could sneak into a villains lair didn't mean she knew the first thing about helping a ninja train. The teen walked through the living room, quickly picking things up, knowing that her sitch would resolve itself like they always did-a happy ending, but with a lot of drama in between.

As Kim took the trash into the kitchen to throw it away, she paused, surprised, as she heard a small, light tapping sound on the windows in the kitchen. She stopped, feeling nervous for a second, then shaking her head. _Ron, if you're back for a late night snack..._

The teen went over to the window, looking out, expecting to see her boyfriend peeking his head at her. Instead, she realized that the sound she was hearing was rain, beating against the front of the house. She leaned forward, craning her head at the glass, then hopping back as there was a large flash, and giant kaboom as the thunder hit almost simultaneously.

Kim almost jumped out her skin at the sudden noise, her heart suddenly pounding in her chest. She took a deep breath, calming herself, shaking her head. It was just thunder, nothing to worry about; Kim admitted to herself that it was a little unsettling, though, and wondered if maybe Ron's movie was getting to her. Rolling her eyes and thinking about something else, she quickly cleaned up the rest of the mess, then went back into the living room.

She laid down on the couch for a minute, turning on the TV, then looking at the clock, trying to decide if she wanted to stay up a little longer, or just go to bed. The teen knew that since it was a Friday, with no school tomorrow, she could stay up a little later than normal. As she thought things through, she was momentarily distracted as she heard the wind and the rain start hitting the house harder. Kim shivered again, and not because she was cold.

The wind was now blowing against the house with incredible force, and for a second, Kim thought about her boyfriend, hoping that he had made it home before the storm had hit. He didn't live that far away, so she was fairly sure that he had gotten home in time; but the worry was still there. She went back into the kitchen, pulling the phone off its cradle, ready to start dialing.

As she placed the phone to her ear, she realized that she was getting nothing but dead air. The phone wasn't working. Kim looked away from the phone, over to the kitchen window, noting that the rain was beating up against the house, smearing the rain across the flat surface. She frowned, then considered going upstairs to get her Kimmunicator. As she took a step out into the hallway, she frowned, then laughed to herself.

She was being silly. The teen knew Ron was safe, and didn't want to wake Wade up just so that she could put in a call to her boyfriend. They would both laugh at her if she woke them both up just to say 'hello'. Kim decided that she would call it a night, then talk to Ron in the morning. She went over to the lamp in the living room, ready to turn it off, when she heard another loud thunderclap, before the lights flickered. The red head froze, mid-action, her hand extended to the lamp. Finally the lights stabilized, and the red head relaxed.

Kim shook her head, standing up and looking around. She was letting Ron's movie get to her. She was in her house, safe, with all the doors and windows locked.

She paused and frowned. Were all the doors and windows locked? Suddenly feeling nervous, Kim cautiously looked around, but didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. The teen decided that she should give the house a quick once over, checking everything, then head up to bed. She quickly swept through the downstairs rooms, going from door to door, window to window, ensuring that everything was locked up tightly. As she finished with her father's study, she smiled to herself in relief, then went back into the living room.

The red head, finally feeling more comfortable, went over to the lamp on the end table, clicked it off, then grabbed the remote for the TV, quickly turning it off as well. As she turned in the darkened room, making her way over to the stairs, she mumbled to herself. "Really smart, Possible, should have turned a light on, first." She knew the house very well, however, and was confident she could make it to the stairs without bumping anything. She paused, mid-walk, as she suddenly realized that the rain sounded substantially louder; her body locked rigid as she heard something hit the floor in the kitchen, followed by another slight noise.

The teen hesitated, not daring to move, staring towards the kitchen, wondering why something had fallen, why she thought she had heard noises. She waited. Her eyes widened slightly as she heard it again, a slight scratching, dragging sound that seemed to be coming from somewhere in the kitchen. She wondered if maybe someone was trying to come in the kitchen window.

Or maybe they were already inside.

The teen felt her heart beating faster, the thought of someone inside her house, meaning danger, making her breathing speed up. She gulped, silently, then made her slowly away from the stairs, taking a few timid steps towards the kitchen. The teen worked her way closer, step by step; as she moved, again, she heard a slow creak under her foot.

The noises from the kitchen stopped.

Kim had two choices-dash in right now, unsure of what she'd meet, or else wait and see if the noises started again. Knowing how dangerous the situation could be, she opted to wait, hoping to be able to slip in to catch the intruder unaware. If she attacked now, she may be the one caught off guard.

The red head waited, and waited. Five minutes, ten, then twenty; just as she was getting ready to turn and go back to the stairs, she heard the noises again. The teen carefully started towards the kitchen again, being even more watchful of the steps; she crossed over to the wall silently. She touched the wall, lightly, getting her bearings in the darkness. Kim bit her lip as she felt her fingertips brush a picture on the wall, the frame slowly sliding back and forth on the wall. The frame fell.

Kim barely managed to catch it before it hit the carpet, her fingers gripping it tightly, white with the strain as she placed it down, looking around, her heart beating rapidly again at almost being heard. She inched her way to the doorway, pausing at the edge. She could hear the noises now, more distinct, and she realized that there were two different sounds.

Moving her head until her eyes were level with the frame, she leaned around, her eyes wide as she tried to see through the darkness. Her eyes quickly covered the room, refrigerator, counter, table, chairs, noting nothing out of the ordinary, no hidden dangers. Finally her eyes alighted on the ground floor window, the glass pane partially open.

She realized that the sound she was hearing was the wind blowing the curtain, the material making a slight whipping in the wind, a slight scratching as it brushed the wall. The air had also managed to knock a plastic cup off the counter, causing the clatter earlier. Kim started to move to the window to close it, figuring that she had left it open earlier; but as she started to turn the corner, she distinctly remembered that the window had been closed, when she thought that Ron had been back for a snack.

Someone was inside with her.

Instantly whipping around as quietly as she could, she scanned the living room, then turned her gaze up farther, up the steps, wondering if they had slipped by her. She shook her head to herself, knowing that they couldn't have passed her on the steps as she came into the kitchen. That meant they were hiding somewhere downstairs.

The teen figured the intruder must have entered when she was checking the other rooms; he or she had probably slipped into one of the rooms after her search, intending to come out after she had gone to bed, hoping she wouldn't backtrack through any of the rooms. She slowly made her way down the hallway towards her father's study, first, realizing that if she went around in her reverse order, she was more likely to catch the intruder.

The teen had to look into the nearly patch black room for quite a while, her eyes attempting to adjust to the darkness. She slowly looked things over, barely able to distinguish shaped of chairs and her father's desk, before realizing that there was definitely no one inside. She looked around the rest of the downstairs cautiously, checking behind the couch, and everywhere else she could think of, before going toward the guest room, the last place she needed to search.

As she stopped at the doorway, Kim took a slow, silent breath, even as her heart pounded in her chest. She wasn't used to dealing with sitches like this-she could sneak up, ambush a villain, knowing that they weren't expecting her, but going in like this, almost blind, all the lights off-this she could do without. Giving up a silent, thankful prayer that her family was out of the house, she stood quietly, taking a hesitant, slow step into the doorway.

She strained her eye in the blackness, blinking, unsure if she was seeing movement, or if her eyes were playing tricks on her. She looking around, but she didn't see anything. Creeping in silently, she looked over the dresser, then to the walls, noting that the bookshelf was too small to hide anything. Finally she stopped, holding her breath, realizing there was one last place to look.

Under the bed.

Kim dropped to one knee, gingerly, reaching her hand to the side of the bed, where the covers draped over. She hesitated, feeling a prickly sensation on the back of her neck, like she was being watched. Slowly, she lifted the covers, unsure of what she would see underneath the bed. As the covers lifted, she stared into the pitch black under the bed, unable to see anything.

Gathering her courage, she lowered her hand, sliding it under the bed, reaching and searching, seeing what she could find. Finally her fingertips brushed something, and she nearly recoiled, before reaching in again, grabbing the round, lumpy object, sliding it out to look at. Lifting it to her face, she realized that she was holding a small, white and red baseball.

Kim rolled the ball back under the bed, away from her, then started to reach in again, when she heard the faint sound of air moving. Freezing, she lifted her head, up, her gaze crossing over the bed, toward the curtains hanging nearby. The material moved, slowly waving in the air, restlessly. Forgetting the bed for the moment, the teen moved over to the window, placing her hand on the curtain, doing her best not to think about the floating monster in the movie she had watched. She pulled the curtain to the side, unsure of what she'd see.

The sudden flash of lightning in the window nearly blinded Kim, the boom of the thunder making her shriek out in sudden fear. She back up, hitting the bed, falling backwards to stare up at the ceiling, her breathing coming in short, rapid bursts. After a few seconds, Kim was able to calm herself, vowing never, ever to watch a horror movie with Ron again. She looked back to the curtains, and realized that the vent underneath had been blowing air upwards, causing the movement.

She got off the bed, carefully, then took a step over to the doorway, figuring that her imagination was running away with her. Maybe she had left the window open, earlier, when she thought she had heard Ron. As she took her next step, she felt her foot brush against something, and looked down, seeing an indistinct, spherical shape. Kneeling, she reached down, grasping the object, bringing the baseball to her face.

Considering carefully, Kim thought the last few seconds through, knowing for sure the baseball had been under the bed, and couldn't have rolled out on its own. Alarmed, Kim instantly had the distinct feeling that she needed to get upstairs, silent or not. She turned, taking off at a run, making her way up the stairs to her room, placing a hand on her door. She opened it with trepidation, fearful at what she would see.

The door slid open, a long creaking as it swung wide, finally revealing the scene in front of her. The teen nearly gasped as she spotted the inside of the room. Her eyes immediately focused on the center point of her room, her bed. The covers were unruffled, spotless, but that wasn't what drew her attention.

It was the body lying in the center of her bed.

Kim crossed the room in two quick steps, then stopped at her bed, looking down at the body, its eyes staring back up at her, unseeing. Her eyes traveled over the form, starting from its accusing eyes, then down its still face, to the center of its chest, where a long knife was stabbed deeply. The teen reached out, hesitantly, placing her fingers on the hilt of the knife, noting it was still warm from whoever had gripped it, indicating the person who had wielded it was still nearby.

A slight noise from behind her let Kim know that the attacker was back, standing poised and ready. The teen sighed to herself, realizing that she had failed; she spoke without turning.

"All right, Ron, you win."

She heard a click from behind, her room lighting up as Ron flipped her light switch. She turned, facing her boyfriend, her eyes looking him over. He was dressed from head to toe in black, only a small slit in his face letting his eyes shine out at her, a mix of pride and concern reflected there. He took the cloth off his head, taking a half step forward, towards her, watching as she turned back away.

"Ron," Kim spoke quietly, "I know I said that I would help you practice your ninja skills..."

She carefully reached down to slip her hands under the body on her bed, lifting it up. She pulled the knife out of the small body, watching as fuzz spilled out of its black belly; she turned and glared at him.

"...But why did you have to kill Pandaroo?"

Ron gave a guilty, unapologetic shrug.

"Eliminating the competition."

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**A/N** Just a little background on this story, I've read a couple of stories where someone, generally Zorpox/Ron or Drakken, takes Pandaroo and uses him as a hostage, so I wondered what would happen if someone decided to 'kill' him instead. I also drew some inspiration from Neo the Saiyan angel's story, _Even Exchange_, and wondered how far Ron would go to make sure he was the only one that cuddled with Kim.


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